The Odinson is one of the stranger characters in the Marvel Universe. Whereas for the most part, the House Of Ideas is populated by regular people who happened to have undergone some amazing transformations (and traumatic life experiences), Thor is literally a Norse god who comes from a different plane of existence called Asgard. Audiences managed to adjust to the idea of Thor existing alongside technological bad boy hero Tony Stark in the films pretty quickly, no doubt helped by an Earth-bound Thor in a fish-out-of-water story. His popularity rose in the comics as well, as writers and artists began to commit fully to huge fantasy adventures not unlike Lord Of The Rings or Game Of Thrones. Right now, Thors star is surprisingly high in the sky for such an oddball, a member of the Marvel Universe who really stands out from the rest. Hes found his place, settled into a groove, and has a committed audience of fans on both page and screen. But it was a rocky road sometimes getting to this point. There are the story arcs that are better left buried at the bottom of back issue bins, abilities that dont so much pass for god-like as they do street magician, and alternate versions that have you wondering if the people behind it even knew who Odinson was. Here are ten things Marvel wants you to forget about Thor.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
